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Chapter 4
The First Counterattack
Wendy stared at Cecilia with wide eyes before suddenly bursting into laughter.
“My lady, you must have been incredibly nervous!”
Wendy nodded as though she understood.
But Cecilia was genuinely bewildered.
She cleared her throat and asked again, “Th-then how old am I now?”
“Huh? You’re twenty-two!”
“T-twenty-two?”
Before her death, Cecilia had been twenty-seven.
She quickly studied Wendy’s expression.
There wasn’t the slightest trace of teasing or joking on her face.
Her wedding to Evan, Wendy, her age…
The more Cecilia pieced everything together, the clearer one fact became.
“Oh, my God…”
Cecilia murmured blankly.
There was no doubt about it. She had returned to five years in the past.
And not just any point in time—she had returned to the days just before her wedding to Evan.
‘Should I just run away now?’
Cecilia seriously considered the idea.
Wouldn’t she end up reliving that miserable life if she went through with this marriage?
Besides, the horrific pain she had endured was still painfully vivid in her memory.
This seemed like her last chance to escape.
‘…No.’
However, Cecilia soon shook her head.
‘If I run away now, I’ll be the only one everyone thinks is crazy.’
There could hardly be a more sensational scandal than a bride fleeing her own wedding.
The truly wicked people were someone else entirely. It would be unbearably unfair if she were the only one everyone pointed fingers at.
‘Cecilia. You said you loved me, didn’t you? Then can’t you love my child, too?’
‘Do you want to die at the hands of a friend just like your parents did?’
The words Evan and Rosena had spoken to her just before her death were etched deep into her heart.
Not only the humiliation she had suffered, but also the truth surrounding her parents’ deaths…
Now that she knew everything, she couldn’t simply run away in disgrace.
‘If I’m going to get dragged through the mud anyway, then I’ll make sure Evan and Rosena get filthy, too.’
Yes, she couldn’t back down now.
She would make them suffer just as they had made her suffer.
Cecilia tightly gripped her bouquet with her lace-gloved hands.
Countless guests had gathered in the grand wedding hall.
Although Evan came from a commoner background, he was a promising young businessman.
He had always worked hard to maintain his reputation, so he had managed to attract quite a large number of guests.
‘Phew…’
Just before the entrance, Cecilia stood behind the doors and took a deep breath.
A moment later, the music announcing the bride’s entrance began to play, and the doors swung open.
Hundreds of eyes turned toward the aisle at once.
Bearing their gazes, Cecilia slowly took her first steps forward.
Her heart began to pound faster and faster.
‘Stay calm. I mustn’t lose my composure now.’
Suppressing the urge to turn around and run, Cecilia maintained a composed expression.
Then, a familiar face entered her field of vision.
‘…Rosena.’
As always, Rosena was clapping her hands with a bright smile.
Beside her sat Viscount Osburn and his wife.
For a moment, Cecilia nearly lost control of her expression.
She wanted to scream right then and there.
Those people are murderers!
But Cecilia gritted her teeth and held herself back.
Reminding herself that she had no evidence yet, she struggled to calm her emotions.
Unaware of what was going through Cecilia’s mind, Rosena met her gaze and silently mouthed the words:
‘Con-grat-u-la-tions.’
Even that was exactly the same as it had been five years ago.
‘Ha…’
Back then, Cecilia had even nodded and returned Rosena’s congratulations.
All while being completely unaware that Rosena was carrying her husband’s child.
‘I must have looked so ridiculous, smiling away like an innocent fool.’
Cecilia turned her gaze away with a frigid expression.
Rosena’s hands faltered in surprise, but Cecilia had already passed her.
At the end of the aisle, Evan was waiting for her.
He took Cecilia’s hand with an expression of pure bliss.
“Lia, you look more beautiful than anyone else in the world today.”
He whispered shyly into her ear.
In the past, Cecilia would have been utterly swept away by such a gesture.
But now, she knew it was all an act.
“…”
“Lia?”
When Cecilia didn’t respond, Evan looked at her in confusion.
However, the priest presiding over the ceremony soon entered, and Evan naturally turned his attention toward him.
In the solemn atmosphere, the sacred marriage vows began.
“Evan March, do you take Cecilia Fanning as your wife and vow to love and cherish her for the rest of your life?”
“Yes! I do!”
Evan answered eagerly, as though he had been waiting for the question.
The priest then turned his gaze toward Cecilia.
“Cecilia Fanning, do you take Evan March as your husband and vow to love and cherish him for the rest of your life?”
“…”
But Cecilia gave no answer.
As the silence stretched on, Evan turned toward her in confusion, and the guests began whispering among themselves.
“Lady Cecilia?”
The priest called her name again.
Only then did Cecilia slowly open her mouth.
“I…”
Everyone held their breath, waiting for the bride’s answer.
“I will not go through with this marriage.”
Her shocking response was completely unexpected, and the wedding hall instantly fell silent.
Evan’s face twisted in bewilderment.
Yet Cecilia wore a quiet smile.
Then, she spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear clearly.
“Lady Rosena is carrying Evan March’s child.”
Cecilia’s blunt revelation struck the wedding hall like a bucket of ice water. The entire venue fell deathly silent.
Even the priest presiding over the ceremony could only stare at her in stunned disbelief, at a loss for words.
“N-no, that’s not true!”
A horrified voice rang out from the guests’ seats.
Rosena sprang to her feet, her face deathly pale.
“Lia! What are you talking about all of a sudden? How could you say something so insulting?”
“Th-that’s right! Even if it’s a joke, you’ve gone too far! Rosie isn’t even married yet!”
Rosena’s eyes filled with tears as she pretended to be the wronged victim. Evan, who had been gaping speechlessly until then, joined in.
The guests stared back and forth between the three of them, completely bewildered.
They had come simply to celebrate a wedding, only to find themselves caught up in a scandalous love affair. No one knew what to make of the situation.
Evan grabbed Cecilia’s arm and tried to turn her toward him.
“Cecilia, there’s a limit to how far you can take a joke—”
THUD!
At that moment, Cecilia kicked Evan hard in the shin.
Evan, who had been shouting so loudly that he was practically spitting, immediately toppled to the floor.
Gasps of shock erupted throughout the hall.
“Argh! What the hell are you doing?!”
Clutching his leg, Evan rolled around on the floor, screaming in pain.
Cecilia looked down at him coldly.
“You piece of trash.”
She spat out the words before looking around.
The wedding hall had descended into chaos.
Evan was rolling around on the floor, exaggerating his pain, while the guests’ murmuring grew louder.
“It’s really not true! I’m not pregnant! I swear to heaven!”
Rosena was desperately denying her pregnancy.
She was doing everything she could to escape the situation.
‘Not so fast.’
Cecilia smiled leisurely and spoke clearly and loudly.
“Then why don’t we find out right here and now? We can call an experienced midwife or physician to examine you. It won’t take long to determine whether you’re pregnant.”
“L-Lia…”
“What do you think? Wouldn’t that be a much more entertaining spectacle than this boring wedding ceremony?”
Rosena’s face turned deathly white.
Her body had already begun showing the physical changes associated with pregnancy.
If she underwent an examination, the truth would come out immediately.
No, in fact, Cecilia’s announcement had already exposed everything to the entire gathering.
‘I was trying to hide the pregnancy and find a suitable marriage partner as quickly as possible…!’
The guests began looking at Rosena with suspicious eyes.
Once they left the wedding hall, news of her pregnancy would undoubtedly spread throughout high society.
Rosena was trapped in a situation where she could neither advance nor retreat.
Watching Rosena tremble, Cecilia smiled triumphantly.
“Move.”
She stepped right over Evan, who was still lying on the floor, and strode confidently toward the exit.
There was no reason for her to remain there any longer.
“C-Cecilia! Stop right there!”
Evan shouted desperately after her, but Cecilia didn’t look back.
The only thought on her mind was how quickly she could tear off this wedding dress that felt like a set of shackles.
A red-brick apartment building stood in the city center.
Under different circumstances, this would have been the newlywed home of Cecilia and Evan.
But after storming out of the wedding ceremony, Cecilia had come here alone.
“I never thought I’d see this place again.”
Cecilia murmured quietly.
This place, too, was exactly as she remembered it from her previous life.
The arrangement of the furniture, the color of the curtains, even the faint dusty smell peculiar to the worn wooden floors.
“Phew…”
After briefly looking around, Cecilia immediately began packing her belongings.
She didn’t have much to take with her.
Most of the things in this apartment had been purchased by Evan, who had always loved to show off.
But all he had managed to provide was a cheap apartment and shabby furniture, so she felt no attachment to any of it.
‘But there is one thing I absolutely must take with me.’
Cecilia opened a small drawer in her dressing table and rummaged around inside.
Then, her fingertips brushed against something, and she pulled out a small box.
